Florida Southern College by Frank Lloyd Wright
Erin Sherman
FLW: Arch 4119
9-22-10
Florida Southern College
The Florida Southern College campus is home to the world 's largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. In 1938 Dr. Ludd Spivery, the president of Florida Southern College, came to Wright for both his philosophy and architecture in hopes of building a “college of tomorrow.” Wright designed the following 9 buildings: Annie Pfieffer chapel, Buckner Building (Original Roux Library), Ordway Building (Originally called the Industrial Arts Building), Danforth Chapel, Polk County Science Building (Called Polk Science by faculty and students), Watson/Fine Building (Administration Building), Water Dome, Three Seminars (Now the Business Office), and The Esplanades. It took about twenty years for the master plan to be fulfilled.
The first building completed and one of the most notable is the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel, begun in 1938 and dedicated in 1941. The building was important since the college is a church-related college. The bigger plan is a hexagon, however the design is contrived on the 6-foot square that informs all of Wright’s Lakeland designs. It is said that Wright’s previous work, Unity Temple, greatly influenced the idea of the chapel’s form and space. Another attribute taken from Unity Temple and Wright’s work in general was the focus on light. Wright was very skillful in creating magnificent spaces with natural light as the main feature. Another interesting light feature in the Chapel is the concrete sand-cast blocks are punctured by abstract designs within which are set colored glass which create a unique interior environment. The bell tower as well is a notable feature and itself is a transformation into the vertical dimension of the breezeway found, in some form, in all the other Wright buildings on this campus. In the beginning the Pfeiffer Chapel could hold the entire student body, however today it can only hold a class at a time, laying testimony to growth of the
FLW: Arch 4119
9-22-10
Florida Southern College
The Florida Southern College campus is home to the world 's largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. In 1938 Dr. Ludd Spivery, the president of Florida Southern College, came to Wright for both his philosophy and architecture in hopes of building a “college of tomorrow.” Wright designed the following 9 buildings: Annie Pfieffer chapel, Buckner Building (Original Roux Library), Ordway Building (Originally called the Industrial Arts Building), Danforth Chapel, Polk County Science Building (Called Polk Science by faculty and students), Watson/Fine Building (Administration Building), Water Dome, Three Seminars (Now the Business Office), and The Esplanades. It took about twenty years for the master plan to be fulfilled.
The first building completed and one of the most notable is the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel, begun in 1938 and dedicated in 1941. The building was important since the college is a church-related college. The bigger plan is a hexagon, however the design is contrived on the 6-foot square that informs all of Wright’s Lakeland designs. It is said that Wright’s previous work, Unity Temple, greatly influenced the idea of the chapel’s form and space. Another attribute taken from Unity Temple and Wright’s work in general was the focus on light. Wright was very skillful in creating magnificent spaces with natural light as the main feature. Another interesting light feature in the Chapel is the concrete sand-cast blocks are punctured by abstract designs within which are set colored glass which create a unique interior environment. The bell tower as well is a notable feature and itself is a transformation into the vertical dimension of the breezeway found, in some form, in all the other Wright buildings on this campus. In the beginning the Pfeiffer Chapel could hold the entire student body, however today it can only hold a class at a time, laying testimony to growth of the
Bibliography: 1) Storrer, William Allin. The Frank Loyd Wright Companion. Revised ed. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2006.pgs. 260-266.